The Daily Record
SURREY, England — A bankrupt farmer killed himself with a chemical cocktail, leaving police and paramedics needing medical treatment.
Bob Dearnley, 57, committed suicide by inhaling toxic fumes released from tablets he dropped into water after being told he faced eviction.
Emergency crews rushed to Burpham Court Farm, an animal conservation centre in Guildford, Surrey, early yesterday after receiving reports of a domestic incident.
On entering the sprawling redbrick farmhouse, they found Dearnley with a glass oozing lethal fumes.
He was eventually taken out of the building by firefighters wearing specialist protective chemical suits but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Flooding Dearnley, who ran the farm with wife Margaret, 54, was declared bankrupt three years ago after losing a court battle with the National Trust.
He had claimed newly installed weir gates were flooding his land and killing his stock.
He was ordered to pay costs of pounds 100,000 and told to leave the 76-acre estate — a popular attraction.
Last night, a spokesman for Surrey Police said seven officers remained in hospital under observation.
It later emerged that three paramedics were also taken to hospital after coming into contact with the lethal chemicals.
Burpham Court Farm, owned by Guildford Council, specialises in rare breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, llamas and ponies.
Copyright 2009 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd.